Scene 10: The Bounty Hunter

Obi-Wan grips Jango Fett's legs as they fly through the storm. Soaked by the Toydarian rain, Obi-Wan can't sense which direction they're flying or even how high they are, let alone what might happen next. The flames from the bounty hunter's jetpack taper off inches from his head, and he thinks he smells burning hair, but he's kind of stuck. He knows if he lets go, the bounty hunter will get away again--this time probably for good.

Jango kicks and swerves, trying to shake the Jedi loose.

"Why don't you land?" shouts Obi-Wan, "We can talk this over!"

The bounty hunter responds by drawing his blaster and firing down.

Obi-Wan yelps, avoiding the shot but briefly losing his grip. He hangs on to an ankle with one hand, and draws his blue lightsaber with the other.

He deflects two more blaster shots with his saber and looks for a way to disable the bounty hunter, but he can't do so without losing his ride. In the meantime, Jango wises up to the ineffectiveness of his blaster; instead he stretches his fist out and presses a button on his arm.

The cord of the bounty hunter's grappling hook winds around Obi-Wan's wrist, taking the Jedi completely by surprise. Jango gives a powerful yank and Obi-Wan shouts in pain and drops his lightsaber.

Obi-Wan panics. It's not like his power stems from his saber, but he feels naked and defenseless without it. Gripping the cord to keep his connection to the bounty hunter, he lets himself drop.

He doesn't fall far; he lands face down in a puddle on a shuttle landing strip and gets dragged through the oily water across the platform. Finally he gains some traction, bracing his heels into the ground and swinging the bounty hunter around by the cord.

Jango smashes into the docking bay wall. His rocket boosters sputter and die, and he falls down to the platform, landing on his hands and feet.

Crouched over in that position, Jango has perfect aim to fire the large missile strapped to his back. The explosion whips around Obi-Wan, who ducks under his cloak and shields himself with the Force. The blast clears just in time for Obi-Wan to see Jango's fist barreling at his face.

Obi-Wan takes the punch and returns it, but Jango's helmet absorbs the blow despite the Jedi's strength. Still tied together by the cord, they are stuck in hand-to-hand combat. Obi-Wan tries a flying kick, but Jango grabs his legs, spinning him around and thrusting him into the ground. Obi-Wan goes for a low kick and knocks Jango's feet out from under him, and then they're both flat on their backs.

Jango looks to the Firespray space corvette parked on the platform. He presses another button on his wrist, and the ship's laser blasters unleash on Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan tumbles out of the way and catches a glimpse of the hilt of his lightsaber rolling toward the edge of the platform. Relieved, he reaches out his hand and calls his weapon back to him. It flies through the air and--

WHUMP. Just before the saber reaches Obi-Wan's fingers, Jango pounces on him, and they both go sliding down the sloped edge of the platform toward a drop into the dark jungle below.

Jango presses a button on his other gauntlet, extending a serrated blade along his forearm. Sparks fly as he drives it into the metal of the platform, and he slows to a halt.

Obi-Wan falls over the edge and comes to a wincing stop when the cord pulls taut. He's hanging above a jungle river. Amidst flashes of lightning, he can see some kind of big cat with a striped coat and hairless tail slinking along its bank. The beast sees him, too, and smiles, revealing multiple rows of pointy sharp teeth.

"That's no good!" moans Obi-Wan.

Up above, Jango pulls with all his might to lift the arm bearing the cord up to the hand supporting both their weight. Straining, he presses the cord release.

Obi-Wan plummets. Thinking fast, he spins the loose cord around his head and manages to lasso a utility pole. The snapping jaws of the cat barely miss his toes as he swings in an arc to safety. With four great leaps, he returns to the landing platform.

Jango stands in front of the hatch of his ship, its engines roaring in preparation for takeoff. He holds Obi-Wan's saber in front of him with both hands, bathing himself in its deadly blue light.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warns Obi-Wan.

Jango charges.

He swings the lightsaber wildly, and Obi-Wan leans to dodge, barely moving to avoid the amateur's broad attacks. Obi-Wan doesn't need to counterattack or even nudge with the Force. Jango has no sense of how to use a weightless weapon, no idea of the local eddies and currents in the Force that direct its motion, and most importantly, no clue that the greatest danger a lightsaber poses is to the one wielding it.

Jango cuts halfway through his own gut before he even feels the pain. The saber blade retracts and the hilt falls to the ground. Obi-Wan snatches it back and tucks it into his belt with a sigh of relief.